Intoxicant use in Mughal India was not only widespread, it also represented an important part of the empire's history and culture. The influence of intoxicants - specifically opium and alcohol - has often been overlooked in secondary literature,...

Reconstruction drawing (after S.E. Piggott). "The outstanding preserved example of early Sumerian temple architecture is the 5,000-year-old White Temple at Uruk, the home of Gilgamesh. Usually only the foundations of early Mesopotamian temples...

"The outstanding preserved example of early Sumerian temple architecture is the 5,000-year-old White Temple at Uruk, the home of Gilgamesh. Usually only the foundations of early Mesopotamian temples can still be recognized. The White Temple is...

"From the 'King's Grave' at Ur comes a splendid lyre that, in its restored state, resembles the instrument depicted in the feast scene on the Standard of Ur [from Tomb 779]. A magnificent bull's head caps the instrument's sound box. It is...

"Further insight into Sumerian religious beliefs and rituals comes from a cache of sculptures reverently buried beneath the floor of a temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar) when the structure was remodeled. Carved of soft gypsum and inlaid...